Fed up with Gorilla glue

[SweetFeet]

Same thing happens to me with every tube of Super Glue. SIGH
Guess I need to break more stuff. GRIN

 

[Janicholson]

Agree, Rapidly getting the lid on its spout, and I wrap 2 rounds of Vinyl tape around to keep moisture out. Cold is a good storage tactic. Then warming in a pan to get it to flow. Jim

 

[dhermesc]

There are several different types of Gorilla Tape. Their outdoor weather proof tape is actually very durable. I helped my brother
temporarily patch his car seat with it. Actually blended in well with the black leather and lasted a couple years before he fixed it
again.

 

[bwillett]

I ran into that problem a couple of years ago. Then I read on the 'net that if you can store the bottle upside down, the glue will flow out. I tried it and it worked, but you have to be careful and store it where it won't be bothered, because if it falls over, same problem.

 

[Hemmjo]

There are lots of different kinds of glue, because there are lots of different types of materials that need to be help together with glue. Each type of glue has right and wrong ways to use it. Each glue has things it is good at, and things it is not good at.

All glues will fail if used on the wrong materials. They are also meant to harden under certain conditions. If the glue of still in the container when those conditions are met, the glue will harden.

Gorilla glue is no different. Used correctly, it works. Left in the bottle too long, it hardens. AS mentioned it hardens when it come in contact with moisture. If you open the bottle, and use some, air then enters the bottle. Air has moisture in it unless you are in the desert. The glue will react with the moisture.

I have had good results with it, I have also thrown away some that has hardened in the bottle. I always by the smallest container thet will suit my current needs. When buying it, make sure it has not already started to harden, turn the bottle over, make sure it flows good in the bottle. If not, it is already old.

 

[Hemmjo]

Just like everything, it is good stuff when used correctly.

 

[Dave G9N]

(quoted from post at 06:59:43 12/01/23) Just like everything, it is good stuff when used correctly.

rue.

(quoted from post at 10:55:22 11/30/23) An old man once asked the glue salesman If this stuff is so darn good,,,how do you get the cap off

f the salesman knew his product, he could tell you that the cap and spout are made of polyethylene, which is a non-porous, low surface energy polyolefin that is difficult to wet. There is no tooth for the glue to mechanically lock into and because the glue and substrate have very different surface energies, the Van der Walls interactions are weak. The polyurethane adhesive bonds much better to a high surface energy substrate and may chemically bond to any hydroxyl or amine groups on the exposed surface. If you do want to bond to a low surface energy surface such as polyethylene, you need to flame treat the surface to provide some level of oxidation and broken bonds.

(quoted from post at 10:08:36 11/30/23) I've found that keeping such things in the shop refrigerator slows the reaction down and they last much longer. All by paint activators and some types of glue go in there.

And it is also a moisture cure polyurethane. The cold air in the refrigerator both slows the rate of reaction and has a very low partial pressure of water vapor. It may also help to keep the polyurethane gorilla glue in a dry box, with a desiccant like damp rid (calcium chloride).

(quoted from post at 11:20:14 11/30/23) You don't use it often and that's the problem. It's not meant to be stored indefinitely. Once glue has been exposed to air it starts curing and once that chemical reaction has started there's no stopping it. With ANY glue you have a limited time to use the contents of the bottle.

WHICH "Gorilla Glue" are you using? There is a polyurethane glue that needs moisture to activate. There is cyanoacrylate, aka "super glue." They also have PVA, aka "wood glue."

nce the seal is broken, air and moisture will cure the glue. I would assume it was the PU, not the super glue. The cyanoacrylates seem to solidify while the PU thickens. You can thin old, thick PU with some VM&P Naphtha, which is just a faster evaporating version of mineral spirits.

Gorilla glues can be PU, PVA or cyanoacrylate types. The PVA has a limited shelf life, but may remain more fluid after it has gone bad. The PU has a very short shelf life after it has been opened because it reacts so readily with atmospheric moisture. PVA glues also have a fairly high chalk temperature. Titebond has a chalk temperature around 50F. any colder and it dries to a weak brittle crumbly crud. I rarely use super glues, so by the next time I look at an opened container, it is totally solid.

Gorilla PU is about as strong as hide glue if the glue joint is tight and clamped. There are some decent comparison tests available that show that PU and hide glue are about even, if the weakest glues in general use. There is not much advantage to a weak joint if the glue can t be removed cleanly, so hide glue outshines PU for repairability. On the other hand, PU is waterproof while hide glue is not. Hide glue is used for violins because it has adequate strength, does not damp vibrations, violins are never used in wet conditions, if for no other reason because they are made with hide glue. What is great for in that application is repairability. It can be broken without much collateral damage, removed with hot water and the joint can be reglued as good as new.

In a loose joint Gorilla (or Borden, etc.) forms a hard, rigid, brittle foam. The strength is the average of the solid glue and the air, which is 10% not so good and 90% non-existent. So why do I like it? It fills gaps in non-critical joints and adds a little strength and a lot of waterproofing to a screwed joint. It also bonds shattered old wood for a band-aid fix on a piece of junk that would otherwise have to be thrown away. It can fill gaps and cracks where the sealing is more important than the strength. It is great for foam if you use it sparingly and clamp the joint sufficiently. If you look at youtube videos about gluing foam for foamy trailers, the results are very different. Some use too much glue and don't clamp, and some use less glue and some pressure. Wet, loose joints are all air bubbles and no strength. The latter joints fare much better. So as Hemmio said, " Used correctly, it works. " I never use any water because in a moderately humid part of the country, everything has plenty of moisture in or on it. Maybe the desert Southwest, or mid-winter you need to dampen things.

The off-label uses are not well known and there is little or no information available. You can improve the strength in a loose joint by making a mush of PU glue and sawdust. Cabosil (fumed silica) is also a good filler that makes it a lot harder and less foamy. It can also be used to make a quick and dirty fiberglass reinforced part. Some filler such as sawdust or fumed silica helps. The resultant fiberglass may not be up to the standards of epoxy, but it can work without hardeners and is relatively inexpensive in the 18 oz bottles. It also cures up just as badly at low temperatures as high, so you can use it when the shop is too cool for PVA glue.